Refuse burning furnace



Jan. 15, 1957 J. F. TURNER ETAL REFUSE BURNING FURNACE 6 shets--sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1l, 1952 2 Execu J. F. TURNER' ET AL REFUSE BURNING F'URNACE- Jan. l15, 1957 e sheets-'sheet 2 Filed Aug.

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.wu gli mt .n..vev nmxm u 4 A INVENTORS JQMPS E 7Z/rner ana Chr/'swan f? Bre/'0707150 ByZi//fe Mae Bre/ie/za y BY Jan. l5,

Filed Aug. 11,A 1952 J. F. TURNER ET AL REFUSE BURNING FURNACE 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY Jan- 15, 1957 J. F. TURNER ET AL 2,777,406

REFUSE BURNING FURNACE iled Aug. 11, 1952 IN VENTORS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 (/cu'rles Fmr/ver and Chr/'S Tia/7 /3 /3 re-l'cle r1 lo c1 ug fr) PCeCLS ed J. F. TURNR AL 2,777,406

Jan. 15, 1957 REFUSE BURNING FURNACE 6 Sheets-Svheet 5 Filed Aug. 11, 1952 INVENTORS 7 2.: rn e 7' am c1 J. F. TURNER ETAL 2,777,406

`lan. 15, 1957 REFUSE BURNING FURNACE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 11, 1952 1N VENTORS James F Flr/7er and 1%7 ATTO EY United States PatentfvO REFUSE BURNING FURNACE James FL Turner, Baltimore, Md., and Christian P.Brei

Application VAugust 11, 1952, serial No. 303,758

QCnims. (Cl. 11o-s) This invention relates to an incinerator stoker or refuse burning furnace. Such furnaces are used `to burn garbage and the like for municipalities. Substantially identical furnaces are used for industrial purposes Ifor disposing of refuse such as boxes, crates, papers and the like.

`The efficiency ofsuch furnaces is determined by the quantity of material reduced to dry ash in a given time, and by their direct consumption of the odors of combustion. To obtain the comsumption of the odors of combustion, the furnace must be maintained constantlyin operation at a temperature that willfconsurne allthe gases given olf by the combustion,-and to laccomplish this result, the furnace should not need opening for cleaning except at rare intervals of a week or more.

Also the furnace must break up masses of material that might form as clinkers and adhere to the furnace bed or sides, and which ymight have a sodden core, andthe forward feeding grate bars of this invention successfully accomplish that purpose. It is found in practice that-with the forwardv feeding, the material is progressively'broken' and spread over the whole grate bed, rand burned, so that when it reaches the dump grate, onlyne dry' ash is `"left, when burning municipal refuse,.plus of course-aquantity of tin cans and other unburning materials 'which'are Cleared from the furnace by opening, the dump grate; from'which they fall tothe ashpit'below.v Air is? admitted to the burning bed from below. Becauseof the progressive burning, it has been found that .morei'air passes through the lower endof the grate,vwherefthe combustion is more nearly complete; thanV through thelupper end, where unconsumed material blocks th'elpassageV of air through thegrate. As the air passes throughthe lower portion of the grate, it passes f upwardly, toward the escape flue, nearly parallelwith the grate, and" inf-passing over the top of theburning materiahas the'ma'terial is periodically raised and forwarded bythe upwardly lifting grate bars, the heated air enters the material'from' the I consumed refuse is removed from the furnace' throughv ice presence of metal in therefuse. Also the strength ofthe bars has not been adequate in many cases to absorbthe shock where heavy articles are dropped-upon them. i The objects of' the instant invention are those set forth above and to' overcome thesediculties heretofore experienced and to make a furnace which can be readily adapted to either 'municipal or industrial use and which will consume refuse at a rapid rate, together with its gases, and will not break under heavy impact and'will not jam with' the presence of bolts and'other foreign pieces of iron. Another object of the invention isto make the grate bars wide, to more'readily move forward the 'wet soggy material and the large refuse. The formation of the stokerbars, either stationary or lifting, with a strut or'portionprojecting' forwardlytoward anv adjacent lifting stoker bar, to nearly close the spacebetween them', is also an important feature of the invention. Another .object of the' instant invention is to make the furnace in sections so that it may be extended to susbtantiallyindenite size and for many varieties of installations without' modification of manufacturing methods.

It has been found most desirable in the buildingfof furnacesl for the intended purposes to slope the grate surface downwardly forwardly fromk the bridgewall. This serves not only the purpose of introducing the refuse atv the topofthe sloping surface and near the bridgewall over which the most intense heat of the furnace passes to vquickly dry out the incoming refuse, but as raw garbage and trash are fed to the furnace the moisture must bedriven` off before actual burning can take place. Thus this material must be introduced to the furnace atthe point of'highest temperature (the bridgewall end) where the incandescent gases pass over it/andv dry it out in the shortest possible time. As the material dries and ignites it is moved forward down the grates. Also this downward forwardly sloping structure permits ready attention to the lower portion of ther grate should any susbtancesr be caught therein which requireremoval from the top surface of the grate structure, and most important .of all, it' greatly facilitates the combustion of both refuse and gases,- Vas above described. In the preferred form the meanslof a ydump grate at the front end which drops the ashes into afpit from which they may be 'removed by passing 'a'truck thereunder.

f-Theaboveand other objects and advantages of the in vention willfbe apparent from the following description top and hastens the drying and combustionhand aidsin 1 consuming the escaping gases.` i Also, the heated air that passes through the grate-further up theslope passesfback' to the escape Hue, nearlyparallel to the Iburning bed,`land hastens the drying and the combustion' there.

- It hasbeenfound from installations of the instantl invention that the quantity of material consumedz isliftyv percent more than that consumed in other refuse bur-ning furnaces of similar size,.also since the instantfurnace need.y not be opened for the removal of ash,` the furnace isnot cooled andall gases of combustion are consumed,

the ash is taken from the hoppers under the dump gratesand the removal does not cool the furnace. IAlso thisv constant agitation, spreading, and maintenanceof con# Also furnace stokers have had other drawbacks which have prevented their wide acceptance such as clogging or jamming in the operation ofthe Stoker ybarsfby the and the accompanying' drawings forming a part hereof and in which;

` Figure 1 is a diagrammatic longitudinal sectional view through the furnace.

Figure 2 `is aside elevational view showing the grate structure in'some detail.

Figure 3 isa continuation of Figure 2 to the right.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the intermediate suporting members for supporting the grate bars at-their center.

"Figure 5 is a continuatio-n lof Figure 4 to the right.

Figure 6 is a plan view' of the upper end of the grate surface.

v.Figure 7 is a sideelevation of one bearingbar section. Figure l8 is a top' plan view of a portion thereof.

Figure 9 is sectional view on line 9-9 of Figure 7.` 'Figure l0 is a front sectional view of a rocking grate bar.

Figure 1'1 is an end-elevational View thereof. Figure l2 is a fragmentary View showing the attachment of the stoker bar arm to the end of a rocking grate 3 Figure 14 is a sectional view on line 14-14 of Figure 10.

Figure 15 is a top plan view of a stationary grate bar. Figure 16 is a front elevational view thereof.

Figure 17 is an end elevational view thereof.

Figure 18 is a transverse sectional view thereof. Figure 19 is a transverse sectional view of a rocking grate bar and an adjacent stationary bar with a foreign piece of iron between them.

In the drawings similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views. The furnace 1 has a front wall 2 and a rear or bridgewall 3 with an escape llue 4 over the bridgewall. The grate 5 slopes downwardly forwardly between the walls. Air is admitted beneath the grate through draft opening 6. The grate bars 7 are mounted on horizontal trunnions 8 in sockets 9 in sectional bearing bars 10 which are bolted together as shown at 11 and bolted to I-beams 12 as shown at 13. These I-beams are supported adjacent their forward end in supporting beams 14 and bolted thereto, which in turn is connected with the front wall 2 of the furnace and at their rear ends the beams are supported on bearing bar beam anchors 15 on which the beams are allowed to slide in case of expansion or contraction in their heating and cooling.

i The sectioned bearing bars 10 are preferably made up in three types, one being a forward bearing bar 16 and a rear bar 17 with intermediate bars 18. If a longer furnace grate is desired, additional intermediate sections 18 may be interposed on longer I-beams. The group of bearing bars extending the whole width of the furnace are connected together by tie rods 19 at their upper ends and by beam 14 at their lower ends. Each bearing bar has therein a plurality of sockets 9 which are elongated in the direction of the `length of the bar, and at the lower end of the sockets they each have rearwardly projecting guards Ztl to retain the trunnions 8 of the grate bars within their sockets. At the upper end of the sockets are placed forwardly projecting trunnion guards 21 which are held in place by bolts 22 as clearly shown in Figure 7. The opening at the top of the sockets 9 is less than the diameter of the trunnions 8.

The grate oars 7 may either be of the rocking kind 23 or the stationary kind 23'. The rocking bars as well as the stationary bars have the trunnions 8 at their ends resting in the elongated sockets 9. The rocking grate bars have rear curved shields 24 projecting from their rear edge and tting reasonably closely to the forward edges 25 of the` next upper bar, whether that bar be rocking or stationary. The curved shields 24 prevent the material from sliding through the space between the bars and the forward edge 25 of the -adjacent bar extends between the trunnions and projects forwardly as shown in Figure 19 to make as close a connection with the next forward bar as possible and yet avoid interference with the operation of the rocking bars. Immediately beneath this holding edge 25, the oar sharply recedes, to allow material to work. through, between that bar and the next forward bar. These bars expand considerably lin use with high temperatures and it is most important to maintain them in operative relationship so that the material on them may be moved forwardly as it is consumed.

For the burning of industrial refuse it has been found that alternately placed stationary and rocking grate bars operate best, the stationary bars allowing closer and more accurate spacing with their adjacent rocking bars, to make the catching of foreign iron between the bars less likely. Both stationary and rocking grate bars have their trunnions in the elongated sockets 9, however, and the forward bar is pushed forwardly by foreign iron pieces 26, as shown in Figure 19, until they work through and the operation of the bars is not interrupted. j

The stationary bars have inset bearing surfaces 27 in their rear lower edges andon these surfaces the bars may move transversely on stops 28 which are in the form of pins placed in suitable openings in the sectioned bearing bars, the stops being clearly shown in Figure 7.

In most of the views, the rocking grate bars are shown as alternately spaced with stationary grate bars, and this is the preferred form for the industrial refuse furnace, as above stated. However, for burning municipal garbage, it has been found preferable to have the whole grate surface composed of rocking grate bars, and the section of the grate shown in Figure 6 is of this kind. Both the bearing bars and rocking grate bars are identical in both constructions. The bearing bars are only modified when certain stationary bars are used by the insertion of the stops 2S to hold up their back edges.

The rocking grate bars are grouped in alternate units, one unit being connected by connecting bar 29 and the other by connecting bar 30. These connecting bars are connected to power cylinders 31 and 32 respectively by push rods 33, and they are operated alternately by lever 34. The cylinders operating these rocking grate bars may be so operated as to slope the rear top edge of the bars near to the axis of the next rear bar trunnion, that is, they will slope backwardly downwardly slightly from parallelism with the bearing bars, so iron pieces on top of a rear bar will roll forwardly and fall on the top rear edge of the next lower bar, rather than falling between the bars, thus this foreign iron will roll down to the dump grates.

The power cylinders and their pistons are so related in their construction and operation as to bring the rocking grate bars in line with the grate and hold them there, when the bars are lowered, except as just described. No additional stops are required. The connecting bars 29 and 30 may be connected to the rocking bars 7 at their ends as shown in Figure l1 where the yoked curved casting 35 is bolted to the ends of the rocking bar at 36. So that the thrust on the push rods may be straight it is often preferred to attach these rods intermediate the ends of the rocking bars and this is accomplished by means of the yoked member 37 which has bearing surfaces 38 and 39 bearing upon adjacent portions of the rocking bar and it is held in place by bolt 40 passing through opening 41 in the bar. Also on the face of the shield of the bar are seats 42 to hold the forward edge of this member 37 rmly in place. As shown in Figure l0 these openings 41 and seats 42 are variously placed across the rocking bar to allow considerable selection for the location of the bar arm 37.

As clearly shown especially in Figures 6 and l5, both the rocking and stationary grate bars have large air openings 43 therein to assure adequate air for efficient combustion of the refuse.

These furnaces are so large and are adapted to take crates and boxes of such large dimensions that frequently very heavy material is dropped upon the grates, sometimes even logs of wood falling upon them. Their heavy impact would be so great as to injure grates supported only at their ends and it is therefore one of the objects of this invention to support the grates, both rocking and stationary, intermediate their ends and the central bearing bar 44 is shown in Figure 4 as being mounted on one I-beam 12 andthe bearing bar 44 has plurality of upwardly projecting sockets 45 which receive arcs 46 and 47 on the stationary and rocking grate bars respectively. It will be observed that when either of these grate bars are moved forwardly by the presence of iron particles therebetween, that they will be raised up and the sockets for the end trunnions of these bars are slightly larger than is otherwise required to allow for this additional elevation.

At the forward end of the grate is placed the durnp grate 48. This grate is pivoted at 49 and it comprises a plurality of horizontal sections connected together having a pintle 50 underneath and these sections are lowered as a group by the toggle lever S4 connected to the pintle, and which is operated by the piston 51 in power cylinys derSZ by turninghand:leverfSS. 'The togglelever- 54 andthe positionof the Ipiston in the power cylinder 52 are so related asr to'keep` the dump grates horizontal wheny the piston is forward. w Between rsections yof the dump grate 48 are dead plates 48. heldup: by'supports 55. These dead plates are grate sections extending above the push rods-33.

At-the upper endof the gratevthere is an expansion grate 56 with trunnions 57 fitting in sockets -9 at the top of the end bearing bar 417 and. centerfbearing -bar 44. These bearing bars have brackets 58, to hold' the eXpansion grates up, at an angletofthebearingv bars. This expansion grate rests atits rear `end against the bridge- Walls of the furnace and it slides vertically thereon with therexpansion and :contraction of the grate. As shown at 59 the forward end of this expansion grate extends downwardly on the trunnions, close tothe rear end of the yadjacent rocking grate bar, so that when the refuse is dropped throughthei opening 60 ontothe upper end of the grate, metallic particlesv will roll from-this expan-y sion grate onto the adjacent rocking grate bar. 'z In spite of this precaution,`` however, should metallic particles get between the rocking gratelbar and the expansion grate, the expansiongrate may move upwardly in its extended sockets 9 and thereby leave the rocking'grate bar operative.

Refuse is fed to the furnace chamber through opening 60, near the `topiof the grate, this being the'hottest part of the furnace, and it is partially driedv by passing through the hot gases as they passout over the top of furnace bridgewall 3, through escape flue 4. vAs the drying and burning refuse is moved down by the rocking g'ratebars it vreaches the dump grates 48,; from which itA 'is' discharged to pit 61. The expansion gratesV 56 also prevent the'undue escape of air between the :ends of the-grate and thefurnace bridgewall 3.

' What is claimed as new and isdesired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l.' A furnace combustion chamber for. burningrefuse having a front wall and a bridgewall and an escape ue over'fthe bridgewall, av grate sloping-.r-angularly'ridownwardly from adjacent the top of the bridgewall toward the front wall, the grate having grate bars therein pivoted horizontally at their forward edges adapted to be upwardly tilted at their rear edges to feed burning refuse forwardly, the furnace chamber having an opening in its top over the grate and adjacent the bridgewall, through which refuse is dropped to the grate near its upper end and adjacent the escape flue, the refuse adapted to be progressively spread and burned by upwardly tilting the grate bars, means to admit air under the grate, the air passing through the grate and across the top of the grate to the escape flue, to facilitate the burning of the refuse on the grate, its drying when turned up by the grate barsy and the consumption of gases escaping from the refuse.

2. A furnace combustion chamber for burning refuse having a front wall and a bridgewall and an escape ue over the bridgewall, a grate sloping angularly downwardly from adjacent the -top of the bridgewall toward the front wall, the grate having grate bars therein pivoted horizontally at their forward edges adapted to ybe upwardly tilted at their rear edges to feed burning refuse forwardly, means to slidably support the grate on the bridgewall to allow for its expansion and contraction, means between the juncture of the grate and bridgewall to prevent the passage of material therebetween, the furnace chamber having an opening in its top over the grate and adjacent the bridgewall above said means between the juncture of the grate and bridgewall, through which refuse is dropped to the grate near its upper end and adjacent the escape liuc, the refuse adapted to be progressively spread and burned by upwardly tilting the grate bars, means to admit air under the grate, the air passing through the grate and across the top of the grate to the escape ilue, to facilitate the burning of the refuse onrthe graterits drying when turnedwupfby the grate 'bars and the `consumption of .gases escaping 'from the refuse.

3.- A furnace combustion chamberfor burning .refuse having a frontywally and a'bridgewall andan escape vue overthe bridgewall,v a gratesloping angularly downwardly fromadjacentfthe'top of the4 bridgewalltowa'rd thefront wall, the gratel having.. grate bars therein pivoted horizontally attheir forward vedges adapted tobe upwardly tilted' at their rear edges to feed burning refuse forwardly, means to slidably'support the 'grate on the bridgewall to allow for its expansion'and contraction, hinged means covering-.the juncture of the grate 'and bridgewall 'and extending adjacent the yrear edge of the-next adjacent upwardly `rocking grate bari to-prevent the' passage .of material betweenthe: grate 'andbridgewall and between the hinged means and the'adjacent grate bar, the furnace chamber having an opening` in' its top over the grate and adjacent the bridgewall. above saidl hinged means, through whichy refuse isv droppeditoi-thei grate near its upper end and adjacent the escape ue.

4. A furnace combustiony chamber for burning refuse having a vfrontwall `and a bridgewall and an escape flue over-thebridgewall, .la grate sloping angularly downwardly from adjacent the top of the bridgewall towardfthe front wall.,-the grate having. grate bars therein pivoted horizontally a'tttheirforwardedgesiadapted to be upwardly tilted at their lrear edgesy to feed. `burning refuse forwardly, the grate ihavingzpartially closedr'supporting socketsat the ends ofthe grate-bars, and trunnions on `the bars rotating i in said sockets, intermediate supports for said. grate bars consisting of standards projecting: upwardlyv toward the bars intermediate theirends and .having on their respective tops yopen:sockets-extending transversely4 of the bars and arcs onthebottoms7 of the bars riding in said socketsupon yi the' tilting of vthebars', to: support them between' their ends, the furnace charnberl having an'fopeningfin'its top over `the grate'and adjacent thebridgewall, through which refuse is dropped tothe'` grate intermediate the grate bar ends and near thejgrate upperend and adjacent the escape flue.

5; Afurnace fcombustionfchamber forburning refuse havinga front wall and a bridgewall and an escape ue over the bridgewall, a grate sloping angularly downwardly from adjacent the top of the bridgewall toward the front wall, the grate having grate bars therein pivoted hori zontally at their forward edges adapted to be upwardly tilted at their rear edges to feed burning refuse forwardly, each bar having a curved guard at its upwardly turning rear edge to prevent material from falling between the bars, a dump grate between the lower end of the sloping grate and front wall, said dump grate being horizontally pivoted at its forward edge, and means to open the same to clear the grate surface, the furnace chamber having an 6. A furnace for burning refuse comprising a downf wardly sloping forwardly feeding grate adapted to receive refuse at its top land to pass it forwardly and downwardly in burning, bearing bars for said grate having bearing sockets opening transversely thereof, said sockets being elongated longitudinally of the bearing bars, the grate comprising a plurality of bars, trunnions extending horizontally from the ends of the grate bars and on which the rear edges of the grate bars are tilted upwardly and forwardly, the rear edges having downwardly projecting curved material blocking shields thereon, the trunnions riding in said bearing sockets and due to the slope of the grate, tending to rest in the lower ends thereof, the grate bars being adapted to slide up on their trunnions, the trunnions sliding upwardly in the elongated sockets, when an object is caught between the bar lower edge and the adjacent grate structure, whereby the grate bars may continue to be raised and lowered without binding the bearing bars having projections directed centrally of and across the top of each socket to retain the trunnions therein at both extreme positions of their movement.

7. A furnace for burning refuse comprising a downwardly sloping forwardly feeding grate adapted to receive refuse at its top and to pass it forwardly and downwardly in burning, bearing bars for said grate, the grate comprising a plurality of spaced upwardly tilting material forwarding grate bars with curved downwardly extending material blocking shields on their rear edges, and trunnions extending horizontally from their ends adjacent their front edges, the bearing bars having sockets to receive said trunnions and spaced alternately with said bars, continuous material supporting bars likewise having trunnions extending horizontally from their ends, means on the bearing bars to support the forward edges of the continuous supporting bars parallel with the bearing bars, the bearing bars having bearing sockets opening transversely thereof, said sockets being elongated longitudinally of the bearing bars, for both said tilting and continuous supporting bar trunnions, said last named trunnions due to the slope of the grate, tending to rest in the lower ends of their sockets, and being adapted to slide upwardly therein when an object is caught between the forward edge of the continuous supporting bars and the adjacent bar shield, whereby the upward tilting grate bars may continue to be raised and lowered without binding the bearing bars having projections directed centrally of and across the top of each socket to retain the trunnions therein at both extreme positions of their movement.

8. A furnace for burning refuse comprising a down-` wardly sloping forwardly feeding grate adapted to receive refuse at its top and to pass it forwardly and downwardly in burning, forwardly and downwardly sloping spaced beams extending for the length of the furnace and supported therein at each end, longitudinally sectioned bearing bars on said beams, said bars being connected together and to said beams, each bearing bar having a plurality of elongated sockets therein, a plurality of grate bars having trunnions extending horizontally from their ends and adaptedto rest in the lower ends of sockets of aligned pairs of said bearing bars, and to be moved upwardly therein upon receiving pressure at their lower edges the bearing bars having projections directed centrally of and across the top of each socket to retain the trunnions therein at both extreme positions of their movement.

9. A furnace for burning refuse comprising a downwardly sloping forwardly feeding grate adapted to receive refuse at its top and to pass it forwardly and downwardly in burning, bearing bars for said grate, the grate comprising a plurality of spaced upwardly tilting material forwarding grate bars extending a substantial distance across the width of the furnace with curved downwardly extending material blocking shields on their ends adjacent their rear edges, and trunnions extending horizontally from their front edges, the grate bars being spaced from each other, and each bar having a top portion having multiple rectangular openings therein extending between their front and rear edges, the'front edge being straight and in line with the forward edge of the trunnions and projecting forwardly in close juxtaposition to its next lower bar, and the portion of the bar between the trunnions and beneath said top portion, immediately beneath its foremost extension sharply receding to provide a space to allow material to pass between said bar and its next forward bar after it has once fallen past said top portion.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 15,124 Heuber Ian. 14, 1921 616,133 Neil Dec. 20, 1898 961,528 Poppenhusen `lune 14, 1910 1,001,741 Pownham Aug. 29, 1911 1,452,031 Elrod Apr. 17, 1923 1,660,843 Kelly Feb. 28, 1928 1,769,996 Howle July 8, 1930 1,813,156 Gilchrist July 7, 1931 1,932,759 Vincent Oct. 3l, 1933 1,984,344 Hotlt Dec. 11, 1934 2,033,576 Hofft Mar. 10, 1936 

